BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Seven years ago, when its hit songs still were charting, The Struts performed in Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem, and gave perhaps what still stands as that venue's best show ever.
On Wednesday, The Struts returned to the SteelStacks campus to play the larger Levitt Pavilion stage.
And while it may not have given that venue its best show ever, it certainly was in contention — and certainly was among the Levitt's most fun and energetic shows.
The 16-song, 84-minute show had the crowd — which appeared to be near 1,500 — invested and singing and dancing from the start. And through the whole show.
That was not only because of The Struts' strong set — more about that later — but because of its energetic and exuberant performance, especially from frontman Luke Spiller.
Spiller sang forcefully and moved frenetically, slinking and skipping about the stage and rolling his tongue as he sang.
But it all seemed natural and appropriate, as if the music engaged him as much as it did the crowd.
And the crowd followed, moving from the start of the opening "Primadonna Like Me," which followed right into the 2018 Alternative chart hit "Body Talks."
Addressing the crowd as Wednesday's rain slowed and finally stopped, Spiller cheekily asked the crowd, "You feeling nice and wet, baby?"
Playing entire hit album
But the focus of the concert was a celebration of the 10th anniversary U.S. release of The Struts' debut album, "Everybody Wants."
The group played it sequentially, starting with the opening track "Roll Up."
And from the start, the performance showed how strong that album was — and is.
The crowd spontaneously sang loudly along to the second song, the platinum hit "Could Have Been Me," then again with the Top 10 Alternative hit "Kiss This," the infectious hooks of both still holding the power they did when first released.
Before even starting the Top 25 Alternative hit "Put Your Money on Me," Spiller had the crowd sing it to him — and they gleefully did.
"I don't know about you, ladies and gentlemen," Spiller told the crowd. "But I came here to shake my ass tonight." And he (appropriately) strutted across the stage like Mick Jagger as he sang.
Of course, the risk of playing "Everybody Wants" sequentially is that the album front-loaded its hits.
But cuts such as the slower "Mary Go Round" — on which Spiller pulled out an acoustic guitar and showed he can sing with emotion in addition to bombast — showed just how strong a disc "Everybody Wants" is.
"Young Stars" was similarly slower, with Spiller at the keyboards, and he ended the song by holding a long, long note. He returned to the keys later for "Only Just a Call Away."
Deeper into the set, "Dirty Sexy Money" still had the crowd singing along loudly.
Some songs less successful
Not all of the night's songs were as successful. "The Ol' Switcheroo" was hooky and fun, but not at the level of the hits. "She Makes Me Feel Like" was more of a fun hook than a fully developed song, but both Spiller and the crowd still were dancing.
Weaker was "Black Swan" — when the crowd cheered when he announced the song, Spiller was surprised they knew it. Guitarist Adam Slack stretched it with a three-minute guitar solo.
And Spiller stretched "These Times are Changing" by singing back and forth with the audience.
But the main set closer "Where Did She Go" — the album's closing track — was stronger, with a bigger hook and virtually the entire audience swinging their arms above their heads.
The format of playing the full album meant The Struts returned for just a one-song encore, the 2023 Top 20 Alternative hit "Vicious," with Spiller still jumping and dancing until the end.
That meant The Struts skipped the 2017 hit "One Night Only," which it has played in other shows on the tour, and its good new single, "Talk Too Much."
It also ironically pointed how "Everybody Wants" largely outshines virtually all of The Struts' material in the 10 years since.
But that's a minor complaint. Having such a strong album to satisfy the crowd seemed enough.
Deep in the show Spiller asked the crowd, "This is a rock and roll show. Are we in Bethlehem? Are you watching The Struts?"
They were, and that alone made it one of the Levitt's best shows.
Opening act also a hit
Opening act Dirty Honey used virtually the same format — good, hard-rocking songs and a strong performance to make its set successful.
It played 10 songs in 46 minutes, and won over the crowd from the opening song, "Gypsy."
Singer Marc LaBell was very much like Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson, both in voice and mannerisms (Black Crowes played a headline show at Musikfest this month, so the comparison is fresh).
That especially was true on Dirty Honey's song "Another Last Time."
But that's no complaint, either. It still was good music.
The best was the 2019 No. 1 Mainstream Rock hit "When I'm Gone" — the first song ever by an unsigned band to top that chart.
